At a moment of escalating conflict, enter the Beast!

by Michael G. Mickey

(7-13-06)

I could go into all the developments presently taking place in the Middle East between Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran, but what's the point? There is so much going on at present that whatever I say, as of the writing of this commentary, may be superseded in its significance by something of far greater magnitude taking place within an hour of me completing it.

Having said that, there is, however, one development in the news today that may have a great impact on the future fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Interestingly, it doesn't involve bloodshed and warfare. In fact, it isn't, in all likelihood, going to be given more than a blink's worth of notice by the media, in spite of the fact it may be one of the biggest developments setting the stage for the fulfillment of Bible prophecy to take place in months, maybe even years! What am I referring to? I'll tell you what!

Perhaps as soon as Monday, if not sooner, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana is planning, of all things, a peace mission to the Middle East after consulting with players in the region and with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, according to a Jerusalem Post article. Meanwhile, as Solana makes his rounds, EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday, according to the article, where they'll discuss whether the Israeli military attacks on Lebanon are "compatible with the bloc's trade and cooperation agreement with Israel, which is conditional on respect for international law."

For a long, long time I've told readers of my site to watch for the European Union - the revived Roman empire of Bible prophecy - to become a key player in resolving the Middle East conflict between Israel and her enemies. Why? Because we find, in Daniel 9:26-27, a leader of Roman descent will someday confirm "with many" a covenant of peace in the Middle East which will be precisely seven years in length. The leader who accomplishes this will be the prophesied Antichrist, a man whose rise to global power will begin through achieving what no one else has been able to - the promise of Middle East peace, albeit temporary as we see in the book of Revelation. The Antichrist will eventually control a "new world order" that will most likely be a globalized version of the ever-evolving 25-nation EU Beast which he will, in my opinion, have originated from within himself. Getting the picture?

So, what makes Solana's upcoming visit different than previous trips he's made to the region? Dr. Javier Solana, as I noted in a recent commentary, officially became the most powerful man in all the European Union in June, in my opinion, when, at the Brussels European summit on June 17th, all 25 EU member states agreed to pool their assets - police, civil protection and military - and place them at the disposal of Solana, the EU's foreign minister-in-waiting, as seen in a Telegraph article. Does this peace mission and Solana's new powers make him a potential candidate to fill the prophesied role of Antichrist? Yes, but before anyone presumes that's what I'm suggesting, it's noteworthy for the previous information to be taken into consideration.

Solana has at his disposal all the EU's police, civil protection and military assets. Not only that, he has personally negotiated many of the European Union's trade and cooperation agreements as well. The bottom line? If the Antichrist is waiting in the wings, preparing to confirm a seven-year peace in the Middle East, he is going to need, at the very least, the backing of one man. That man is Javier Solana, assuming Solana isn't the Antichrist in the making himself, which no one knows other than Almighty God Himself.

If, on the other hand, the Antichrist's arrival on the world stage is set to come further down the line, Solana's peace mission to the Middle East, particularly during this tempestuous moment when military conflict is escalating at an unbelievable rate, places the European Union in a very opportune position. Unlike many other world powers, the EU isn't merely condemning the conflict presently taking place in the Middle East but taking concrete steps toward easing the escalating tensions in the region by sending their top diplomat, potentially into harm's way, to talk peace. It's a bold and risky diplomatic move, but one I think will pay dividends in the future.

In conclusion, at a moment of escalating conflict in the Middle East, the EU Beast is going to stop by for a visit. What will happen as a result of that visit is anyone's guess, but I believe the one thing we can be sure of is it will, at the very least, better set the stage for the advent of the Antichrist to take place at the appointed time God has planned.